Revisions to No Child Left Behind

Yesterday, the House approved a bill 359 to 64 to revise the No Child Left Behind law to give more control back to the state and local district level. Experts expect the Senate to pass it next week.

This bill allows states and school districts to decide on their own goals and how to rate schools, as well as how to handle schools that do not perform well. States are still required to rate schools using test scores, but they can also use additional materials like student surveys. According to the New York Times, “The bill specifically prevents the federal government from requiring that states evaluate teachers at all, much less use test scores to rate them, and says the education secretary cannot dictate any specific academic standards to states” (Huetteman and Rich).

While many say local communities are better able to help children who have fallen behind, others say that the federal government is needed to prevent this issue. What do you think?